Villain With The Strongest System

Once the team realized just how dangerous the corridor really was, they banded close together and proceeded with extreme caution.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

They watched every step that they took, not wanting to trigger any unnecessary traps, and under this nerve wrecking environment, they slowly reached the half-way mark.

The half-way mark in the corridor was marked by a statue of a blind goddess with a silk cloth tied around its eyes, however, the moment the team skirted around the statue down the corridor, the statue creepily turned its head backwards, with the silk cloth tied around its head slipping.

*Shinggg*

The eyes of the statue glowed with an unreal red glint, and from that moment onwards the intensity of the illusions that Rocky and Kronos faced, became much worse.

The statue was an old runic artifact that amplified the effects of mental magic and illusion, and as soon as the team entered its area of effect, the over-all situation became that much worse for them all.

Instead of just seeing a river of blood around him, Rocky now began to see illusions of his team mates walking all around him, inside the blood, as although he knew they were not real, his mind could not process the difference between the illusion and the real world.

Gone was his ability to see his real team-mates, as instead of seeing them where they stood, Rocky saw illusions of his teammates standing at the exact spot as they were, however, the illusions smiled towards him with the creepiest of smiles.

"It's not real…. It's not real, it's not real" Rocky muttered to himself, as the illusion of Erin menacingly walked towards him.

"We hate you sir Rocky, we hate your selfish nature" fake Erin said, as he stabbed a fake dagger into Rocky's body, that triggered an intense sensation of pain in his brain.

As Rocky looked down, he could see the dagger embedded in his body and the blood pouring out as a result, as whether it was touch, sight or smell, Rocky felt the very real sensation of being stabbed, but he knew for sure that he wasn't.

It was an incredibly odd experience for him, as on one hand the conscious part of his brain knew that Erin would never do this and that all of his experiences right now were an illusion, however, on the other hand, his subconscious mind had gone into a full panic, fight or flight mode.

Rocky had his heart rate racing through the roof and waves of adrenaline shooting through his veins, as his body had completely believed the lie of him being stabbed.

With Rocky no longer being able to see or hear the real Erin and Buhara leading the wah, he was as helpless as helpless could get, however, he did not despair.

Stoically standing his ground, he kept walking while ignoring the illusions, as he hoped that Kronos did the same.

Unfortunately, with every step that he took, so did the illusions around him, as every single one of his friends took turns stabbing him and making mean comments, whether it was Erin, Buhara or Kronos.

At the same time, Kronos also felt something similar, however, he did not hold out nearly as well as Rocky.

In his version of his vision, not only did his friends stab him, but they also somehow disabled his healing factor, as after being stabbed his wounds stopped automatically closing up, which sent him into a state of shock.

Thankfully, Buhara decided to carry him on his shoulders, and no matter how hard Kronos flailed or screamed, Buhara carried him firmly.

The frustration of the spirits grew when they realized that no matter how hard they tried, they could not affect the mental states of Erin and Buhara, as while they managed to get into the heads of Rocky and Kronos, the other two seemed to have complete immunity from the illusions even after the added effect of the statue.

Usually, even those with the firmest of minds started to crumble after the halfway mark, however, the way Rocky and team held out was extraordinary.

Rocky's choice of letting himself and Kronos suffer the consequences of the illusions was the right one, as although the two of them were terrorized, they managed to keep the mental fortitude necessary to stay sane, while Erin and Buhara would have undoubtedly crumpled.

Slowly, after defusing many traps and going through 90 minutes of mental intense torture, the team managed to reach the end of the are of the statue's effects, as they escaped the spirit controlled zone and reached the necromancer's lab entrance.

As soon as they stepped out of the zone, all the illusions magically vanished, as the blood disappeared and Rocky and Kronos felt their visions returning to normal.

"Gosh, that was hard" Rocky said, folding to the floor, as although the whole trip through the corridor looked simple to a third person onlooker, it was anything but simple in reality.

146 times, was how many times Rocky was stabbed during this journey and that too by everyone he ever knew and loved.

The mental illusions he saw were nothing short of horrifying, and although he managed to hold a steady mind throughout, they were sure to become his nightmares for years to come in the future.

"NEVER AM I EVER COMING BACK TO THIS PLACE EVER AGAIN" Screamed Kronos, as soon as the illusion dispelled, as just like Rocky he crumpled to the floor as well.

While Erin and Buhara were left scratching their heads, unable to understand what exactly happened, Rocky and Kronos placed a hand over each other's shoulders in a show of solitude.

Only the two of them understood the horrors of this chamber and what they had been through, and although they did not exchange any words, that single gesture of wrapping arms around one another, was enough for them to convey their emotions.

"Alright, let's get this over with" Rocky said eventually, as struggling back to his feet, he gave the team the orders to raid the necromancers lab, where they could hopefully steal the death crystal without having to face the necromancer himself.